You and I
by ChemicalPanik
Summary: Moving to a new place is always hard- especially when you don't have your family there to support you. Cam just moved from the US to Canada. Follow him on his journey to meet new people, make new friends, and get close to the people that no one expected.
1. Chapter 1

**So I am still in denial about Cam, and I didn't like him with Maya, just because I didn't really like Maya in general. So I came up with this, because I am a Clare ship-whore. I can ship her with literally anyone. So I hope you enjoy!**

**I own nothing**

**Cam's POV**

I walked in to the large school at around 7:30. I had just finished early morning hockey practice. All the guys on the team were hanging on the stairs talking to each other, and the few that had known others at the school were hanging out with their friends.

It was the first day of a new school year, and I wasn't looking forward to it at all. I was about a billion miles away from home just so I could play on some stupid high school hockey league. I had never liked hockey, but my parents forced me to play. And when they found out that the highly ranked Ice Hounds of Toronto were holding tryouts, of course they forced me to try out.

I ended up purposely blowing the tryout so I had no chance of making the team. I missed all the shots I tried to take, didn't block anyone, and I kept slipping on the ice. I thought I was guaranteed to not make the team, but of course my brother, a well-known hockey player, smooth talked his way into getting me another tryout, and he was watching me during this one, so I knew I actually had to try.

I'm pretty sure that my brother, Tyler, his name was, knew I was purposely trying not to make the team, so he made sure that I did try. Tyler hated me, and I hated him. I was always in his shadow. Only three years older, he managed to do everything I wanted to do, only better than I would have. I would get an A in math, and he would get an A+. And my parents loved him. They were always obvious with their favoritism for him. Whenever Tyler had a hockey game, they let him pick what we had for dinner, and when I won the spelling bee when I was in elementary school, no one cared because Tyler had been named MVP of his junior high hockey league.

I guess that in a way, coming to Toronto to play with the Ice Hounds will be good. I would get to stop living in the shadow of someone else, at least temporarily.

I saw one of the seniors on our team, Dallas, talking to his two billet brothers; he must have seen me standing quietly by myself, because he motioned me over to come meet them. Dallas was lucky. He got the host family that actually had kids who went to our school. I got stuck with a couple who always stayed cooped up inside, and didn't like it when I hung out with my friends, not that I actually had any in Toronto.

When I got to where Dallas was standing, he introduced me to the guys he was standing with.

"Guys, this is out rookie, Cam." He said as he put his hand on my head and ruffled my hair. I had only known him for a few days, and he has already done this constantly. "This is Adam," Dallas said as he pointed to the shorter of the two boys, "And this is Drew." He said as he pointed to the other. They two boys awkwardly looked at me, probably hoping I would leave so they could continue whatever conversation that they were having.

Dallas, however, wasn't so keen on me leaving just yet, so he tried to supply more awkward conversation.

"Adam is in grade 11," He said as he glanced to me (Dallas must have thought that I was really stupid, because the dress codes made us wear shirts that were colored by grade.) "But Cam is so smart that you two might have a few classes together." He said, looking at Adam as he finished.

I was going to turn 16 in a few weeks, so I was still in grade ten. On top of all the hockey practice, I had somehow managed to qualify for two classes in the next grade up, Algebra and English, so I probably would have a class or two with this Adam guy. I was the only guy on the team who was in grade ten, so I was the youngest, which meant that I knew virtually no one, so it was an improvement to at least kind of know a few people.

I stood with the three guys silently standing there as Drew tried to make small talk, until we saw two people coming over.

"Adam!" The guy shouted, holding the hand of a girl standing next to him. The guy was wearing a blue shirt, so he must have been in grade 12, and he seemed to be wearing black eyeliner, but it was hard to tell from so far away. The girl standing next to him was kind of short, and had the most beautiful blue eyes that he had ever seen. She also had shoulder length curls the color of honey. She was wearing a red shirt, meaning she was in grade 11. I hoped that we might have some classes together, because she looked sweet, and she was _really _pretty.

"Eli, Clare!" Adam shouted as he ran over to hug the girl, who must have been Clare, and fist-bumped the guy who must have been Eli.

"So, I presume that you two got back together?" Adam smiled as he looked at their intertwined hands.

Clare nodded and blushed, as Eli just smirked. He seemed kind of like a jackass, but I couldn't judge him when we hadn't really met.

"Oh, guys, this is Dallas. My mom offered to host a player from the new hockey team, so now he's staying in the extra room in our basement. And this is his friend Cam." Adam said as he gestured to the two of us, causing Clare to smile at me. She had such a pretty smile.

Just as I was about to try to talk to Clare, the bell rang, so students started piling into the school through the double doors. Drew, Adam, Eli, Clare, Dallas, and I soon followed them.

After most of the students had made their way to their homeroom classes, I was left standing in the middle of the hallway, looking at my schedule in one hand, and constantly glancing at the room numbers as I walked past each new door. Everyone else was gone except for a few students, and some security guards. I was too nervous to ask one of them. They look intimidating, and I wasn't really into asking for help, especially for something as lame as not being able to find a classroom.

Every other student either had already been to this school the year before, had a sibling to guide them around, or at least a friend. Not me. I kept going down the hall, only to see Clare talking to Eli. Eli quickly kissed her on the cheek before exiting into a classroom. Clare, probably in a rush to get to her own homeroom on time, turned the corner, quickly approaching where I was standing. I tried to lean my head down so she wouldn't see me, but I was too late, and she saw me anyway.

"You're Cam, right?" she said with a smile as she approached me.

"Yes." I tried to say to as quiet as possible, so she would leave and I wouldn't have the chance of embarrassing myself.

"You lost?" She didn't give me a chance to reply, because she knew I was lost, so she looked at the schedule I had in my hand, and pointed down a hallway.

"Your homeroom is that way, once you turn the corner, on the left." She smiled at me, and then quickly walked away as the late bell rang, even though we probably wouldn't be faulted for being late on the first day.

* * *

After the basic introduction to the new school year, the bell rang for the next class, and I _really _didn't want to get lost a second time.

I left the class first, so I would get a head start on finding the next room. I had grade 11 algebra. It was in the room across the hall from my homeroom, so I had an easy enough time finding it. As I walked in, the teacher, Ms. Gordon, took my name, and assigned me a seat. I was sitting in the back of the room. Luckily enough, Clare was sitting in front of me, and her friend Adam next to her.

Clare was too busy giggling at something that Adam had said to notice me, so I started reading a book as the teacher assigned the rest of the seats.

Once the painstakingly long class period was over, the bell rang, and all the students got up out of their seats.

"What do you have next?" I heard Clare say as she walked next to me.

"English with Ms. Dawes."

"Oh, me too! I had this class last year, but they messed up my schedule and the other classes were full, so I have to take it again."

"You had it last year? You must be like, really good in English."

"It was my favorite subject. Reading is like, my favorite pastime." Clare said with a huge smile adorned on her face, which made me smile too.

"I was never really good in English, but for some reason, they put me in the advanced class."

"Well, I took this class last year, maybe I could help you."

"Yea, that would be cool." I said with a smile, she then took out a piece of paper from her bag and scribbled a phone number on it.

"Just text me if you need anything." We both slipped into the English classroom, only to find most of the seats taken, so they plopped down in two seats in the back next to each other.

* * *

After English, I had 9th grade French. Because of all the hockey practice, and extra work I had to do to be in advanced classes, I dropped my language class in 9th grade, so I have to take it this year.

By now I had a pretty decent idea how to navigate the school, so I found my next class with no problem. When I got there, I really just wasn't in the mood to talk to anyone, so as most students had their own conversations, I sat with my phone hidden behind my book, and I put Clare's phone number in the contacts list on my phone.

After I put my phone away, I looked up, only to see two people a few desks away from me talking and pointing at me. One was a small blond girl with glasses, and next to her was a tall guy with dirty blond hair who was looking at me, but when he caught my eye, he immediately looked away.

All through the rest of the class, I saw the two students looking at me. I tried to pay attention to what the teacher was saying, but I couldn't. And the time I didn't spend worrying what they were saying about me, I spent thinking about Clare. This was bound to be a long day.

* * *

After French class, it was lunch time. I was relieved, because the hockey team was going to sit together, so I didn't have to worry about not knowing someone, or sitting by myself.

Lunch was the about halfway point of the day, so if I just got through a little less than 3 more hours, I would be able to leave. But leaving school meant going home to my host family, which defiantly wasn't the most fun thing to do. At least if I was back home I would have friends to hang out with, here I only have the hockey team. Don't get me wrong, they're great people, but just not the type of people that I would usually hang out with.

After I got my lunch, I walked down to the table where the rest of the team was sitting. Of course they were laughing about something stupid. Some were even throwing things at each other.

Out of the corner of my eye, I saw the two people from my French class again, except this time they were with two others, another guy, but this one had a dark brown hair, and had his arm around another girl, who also had dark brown hair, but hers was really curly.

After eating for a few minutes, I got bored of the rude conversations that the rest of the team was having, and noticed Clare sitting with that Adam guy, and her boyfriend Eli. They were laughing together at a table in the corner. Clare looked so happy with Eli. I was a little embarrassed to admit, but in the small amount of time that I had known her, I had developed a small crush on Clare.

But, could you blame me? She was so pretty, and she was really nice. I especially loved her eyes. They were the prettiest eyes that I had ever seen. But it really sucked that she had a boyfriend. But, as long as he made her happy, I was fine with it. I just wanted her to be happy.

**Thoughts? if you want more, then be sure to review! I'm not really sure where I'm going with this story, but I have a few ideas. So if you want something, then just PM. I'll try to update as soon as possible. **


	2. Chapter 2

**So, a few people liked the first chapter, and as long as one person likes it, I'll continue writing! There is a bit of a time gap between this chapter, and the last one (a few weeks), so try not to get confused. Enjoy!**

**Cam's POV**

So, after a few weeks into my sophomore year at Degrassi, I'm finally starting to get in the swing of things. I have hockey practice pretty much every day, either in the morning or after school, so I don't really have much time to hang out with people.

It's been about a month, and I still don't have many friends. I just consider the Ice Hounds my friends, but I know that they're not. Not real friends, at least.

I'm starting to fall behind in some of my classes. Not my advanced ones, like English (even though it is hard to pay attention, because I sit with Clare, and she is all I can focus on in that class) and algebra, but in subjects that I was never really good at, like science. Who the hell cares about biology? No one need to know how a cell divides, it just does. If I keep falling behind, I'll get kicked off the Ice Hounds. You need to have at least a C+, and I'm just bordering that.

That Wednesday morning, I had English second period, which made me a little excited because it was one of the two classes that I had with Clare, the other being algebra, which we really didn't talk much in algebra because her friend Adam was in that class, so she usually just stuck with him.

"So, for your next assignment, you will be paired up and analyze whatever book, play, poem, or short story is assigned to you. You will work with the person sitting next to you. I'll call you up by assign your material."

I mentally high-fived myself, happy that I got paired with Clare. And on top of obvious reason why I was happy for the pairing, like the fact that the _small _crush I had on her had grown immensely, and this was an excuse for us to actually hang out, she had already taken this class last year, so we were pretty much guaranteed to get an A.

When Ms. Dawes called out our names, we both stood up slightly, but I motioned for her to just sit, because I would go up and get our work.

I came back to the desk, to find Clare sitting and reading, even though I had only been gone for like two minutes. I sat down, not wanting to disturb her, but she saw me sit next to her, so she put her bookmark in her book and looked up at me.

"So what'd we get?"

"The Catcher in the Rye."

"Oh, I loved that book. I must have read it at least a hundred times." As she says this, she moves her chair closer to me, which makes me a little bit nervous. I was never really good at talking to people in general, much less people that I liked.

"I never understood why they didn't make a movie about it. It would make everything so much easier to understand."

"The author didn't allow it. I always wondered how it could stand on it's own in such an image driven time period like now."

"Deep thinking, I like it." When I said that to her, she blushed and looked down at the two books that Ms. Dawes had given us. She took one of them from my hand, which caused our fingers to brush for a second, before she moved her hand back and flipped through the pages of the book.

"Well, its repeated in the novel many times how much Holden hates the movies, just like the author did, so that could be a good starting point for us, I guess." she said, looking up from the book that she had sitting opened in her lap.

"Like at the beginning when he talks about how his brother left writing to go to Hollywood?"

"Yea. Just like that." I can see her smiling, but I can also see that she is biting her bottom lip, which is one of the most adorable things that I had ever seen.

We would have finished our conversation, but the bell interrupted us, signaling the end of another class.

"Do you want to meet in the school library after school to try and get more work done?" Clare asks as she hurries to put all of her belongings inside of her book bag.

"I don't think I can. I have hockey practice today. But I'm free after school tomorrow."

"Okay. So, um, I'll see you tomorrow."

* * *

After English, it was time for French. The class was booming when I got there, other ninth graders running around, throwing scraps of paper at each other, and shouting. I took my seat quietly in the back, waiting for the teacher to get there to start the lesson.

It wasn't that I was a goody-two shoes, but I just wasn't really in the mood to be running around with a bunch of fourteen year olds, when I could actually get work done. Granted, it wasn't the quietest place, but I wanted to work on stuff for my _The Catcher in the Rye _project with Clare, so when we met up to work on it the next day, she wouldn't think that I slacked off. And I knew wouldn't have much time to do homework after practice. I never did.

I took out the book, re-reading it as I took notes. I only got through the first few pages before our teacher came in the door, trying to quiet down the loud class.

Once everyone was settled down in their seats with only a few mummers of people whispering the end of their conversations, she final started to give us our lesson plan for the class.

"So today, you are working in pairs to study for the French test in two days." We were instructed. "Pick your own pairs."

Everyone shuffled around the room, trying to get to their friend before anyone else could. I wasn't really into the whole "work in pair" thing (Except Clare. She was the only exception that I had for this.), so I just took out the flashcard that I had made earlier in the week, and studied by myself.

As everyone quizzed each other on the material we were going to be tested on, the noise level grew, so the teacher walked around the rows of desks to make sure that everyone as actually studying and not just having useless conversations with their friends.

When she got to me, she stopped.

"Campbell, you have to partner with someone else."

I would have argued with her about how I was fine working by myself, but there was no point in that, so I just gave her a simple "Fine."

"Maya, Tristan, can Campbell work with you?" She didn't really wait for an answer; she kind of just left me with the two of them and went back to monitoring the rest of the class.

"Hi, I'm Maya." Said the blond girl who had been watching me yesterday. She was smiling really big, which kind of freaked me out.

"And I'm Tristan." Said the taller boy, who was sitting next to her wearing a multi-colored fedora.

"Cam." I answered simply, taking a seat across from them.

The two of them were kind of creepy. I don't mean it rudely, but they just kept staring at me. Tristan was giving me weird looks all the time, and both of them were smiling at nothing, and I don't mean that they were just always happy, but they were smiling really big, with their teeth showing, as if they were always posing to get their picture taken. It was weird.

* * *

The bell rang after what seemed like an eternity. I wanted to get out of there as fast as possible, and get to lunch. Not only did I want to hang out with the hockey team, I was actually really hungry.

I didn't see the team in the cafeteria, so I decided to go outside to the picnic tables. It was only early October, so the weather was still pretty warm.

I first noticed them in a large group, huddled around a small picnic table. At the table a few yards next to them, I saw two people dressed up in these ridicules costumes, for what I assumed to be some sort of theater thing, because of the person next to them taking pictures as they posed together. there was someone else with them, who was directing them on what to do. when I got closer, I realized it was Clare's boyfriend, Eli. Another thing that I noticed when I got closer to the table was that the people in the costumes where two guys.

Don't get me wrong, I don't have a problem with gays, but it probably wasn't a good idea to be taking pictures of that at a high school, especially considering how rude some of the people here were.

I was soon proved right when Luke, another Ice Hound, shouted something at them. I was too far away to actually hear anything that he said, but based on the reactions of the two guys and Eli, it didn't seem like he was being very nice.

Luke threw a soda can at them, and as I finally approached the table, shouted "Gay!" at the two guys.

Eli, who was being surprisingly professional about the entire situation, calmly came over to the group of us.

"Would you guys please try to keep it down? We're taking pictures for the posters for the school play." His voice was strained, like he was trying his hardest to keep calm, but Luke defiantly wasn't helping.

"What play?" I asked, curious. I used to watch some with my family back when we lived in the States. My mom would drag us to off-Broadway plays whenever she got the chance. At the time, I would always whine about going, make a big deal out of not wanting to waste two or three hours sitting and watching other people sing and dance, but looking back now, it was always lots of fun. A good way of spending family time together. That was defiantly something that I really missed. My family.

"Romeo and Jules. A modern take on a classic tale. Romeo falls in love with Jules, a nice young _man._" he looked excited that at least one person on the team wasn't being a bastard. "Your sister helped come up with the idea, actually." He said with a smirk as he looked at Luke.

"Hell no. Becky would never want a gay play." Luke got up off the table, and stood, sizing up Eli, not keen on the fact that he had to bring up his sister just so he could prove his point.

"Well, she did. So, if you boys would excuse me, I have pictures to take, and posters to make." Eli backed away from Luke, going back over to he table where the table where the two guys from the play were standing, who were both staring at the hockey team. One of them looked offended, probably by the things that Luke said, and the other guy looked amused, probably by the things that Eli said.

**Do you like it so far? I'm trying to make my chapters longer than my other stories, and I want to update them more often, so I have most of the general plots and chapters for this story written in advanced. What do you think would be a good time for each chapter? I'm thinking twice a week, Friday, probably, and maybe Tuesday, but I will defiantly post a chapter sometime each weekend, and on a weekday. If you like it, review! **


	3. Chapter 3

**So in this chapter, there is more Cam/Clare interaction. Their relationship will progress, but good things come to those who wait, so...Enjoy!**

**Cam's POV**

I got home that day kind of late, due to the extra hockey practice I had that day. The new season was due to start soon, which meant that practices were longer and harder. It also meant that in a few weeks we would actually play other teams.

I was kind of excited to start the season. Not because I like hockey, because I don't, but because my parents promised to come up to Toronto for my first game. Even though it didn't seem likely, because they spent so much money sending me up here, so I don't think that they can afford it, I still hold on to the hope of seeing them through the plastic window at my first game. They said they would bring my brother, Tyler, but I really hope that they don't. He would just make me feel bad about all that has happened so far. Or should I say- what hasn't happened. I don't have friends, and he wouldn't hesitate to remind me of that.

I tried to get up the stairs quietly, so my host parents wouldn't hear me, but I only got halfway up the creaky staircase before they came out of their room to greet me.

"Cam, honey, are you hungry?" My host mom, Suzie, said. She was of average height, with dark brown short hair. She put her hand on my back, guiding me to the kitchen for something to eat. I was actually really hungry. After lunch, I only had a small snack to keep me energized during practice, so food defiantly sounded good right now, but saying that I was hungry would mean that Suzie and my host dad, Paul, wouldn't have to sit at the table with me awkwardly watching me as I ate, because they probably finished dinner an hour or so ago.

"No, I grabbed some stuff with the team after practice." I tried to just up to my room, deciding it would be better to just sneak downstairs later rather than to endure the awkward situation of spending time with them, but she quickly stopped me, clearly wanting us to have some "quality bonding time".

"Then to you want to watch some television with me and Paul?"

"No, I have a pile of homework to finish." And with that I managed to disappear up the stairs before she could get in another word.

I didn't really have any homework to finish. I had a period of study hall after lunch that day, and I finished all of my homework, and I managed to do a lot of work on my project for English (I was still excited to work with Clare on it tomorrow).

Relaxing and watching some TV did really sound like a good idea. When I lived in the States, every Wednesday night my family would sit down and watch a James Bond movie. We always tried to watch one that we hadn't seen yet, but after about a year, we had seen them all, so we would re-watch our favorites. Wednesday night was always the best night of the week. My mom was a nurse, so she worked the night shift, and Wednesday was her day off, and it was also the day my brother didn't have practice, so it was the night that we would relax together as a family. Now, Wednesdays were just the same as any day of the week.

* * *

The next morning, I got up early, due to the morning hockey practice that I had. The morning practices didn't make sense. None of team members liked them, and neither did the coach. And we weren't energized, so we couldn't play as well.

When I got to the ice rank, the rest of the Ice Hounds were huddled around the doors, waiting for the coach. When Coach Armstrong got there, we went to the locker room, and quickly changed into our hockey gear.

Practice seemed to take forever. We didn't even play; all we did was drills, skating back and forth on the ice, over and over. It took so much energy out of me.

When practice was finally over, we still had about an hour until school started, and Coach Armstrong let us out early, so I decided to go to The Dot to get something to eat.

It was about 7 when I got there, so there were a few students there getting something for breakfast. I noticed Clare sitting at a table in the corner by the window by herself, doing some homework. She had headphones in, so she wasn't paying attention to anything around her.

As I waited for the guy behind the counter to make my coffee, I silently built up the courage to go sit with Clare, but I didn't get the chance, because as I was about to go over there, I saw he boyfriend Eli come in, and immediately went to sit next to her, placing his arm around her as he did so. Knowing that I couldn't go over there now, I went to go sit by myself.

I tried to work on homework, or something else productive, but whenever I tried to, I just kept thinking about Clare, and how jealous I was that she was with Eli.

I didn't stay by myself for long, because a few minutes after I sat down, Maya, Tristan, and the two other brunettes that I saw them sitting with the other day came into The Dot. When I noticed them, I tried to move my head down so they wouldn't see me, but they noticed me anyway, so Maya and Tristan waved to me, then walked over with their two other friends.

"Hey Cam!" Tristan said, most of the people there heard him, including Clare, who's head lifted up a little bit, and we looked at each other for a minute before she went back to talking to Eli.

Maya and Tristan pulled up two chairs from the empty table next to us, and put one on either side of me, pulling them closer to me, until it felt like I couldn't breathe. Their friends, however, probably felt awkward, both of them quietly sitting on the other side of me on he chairs that were already there.

"Oh, how rude of us! Cam, this is Tori" he said pointing to the girl across from us, "and Zig." He finished, pointing at the guy sitting next to Tori.

"Hi. I'm Cam." I nodded slightly at the two of them, feeling bad that Tristan and Maya dragged them over here. They looked as uncomfortable as I felt.

Maya and Tristan supplied conversation for about 45 minutes until most people left, and we realized that we had to leave for school.

* * *

I missed English that day because there was an assembly during second period, which was when we were supposed to have English. We all gathered around in the gym/auditorium (the school could only afford the combined two, due to poor funding) on uncomfortable metal chairs as we waited for Principal Simpson to make his "important announcement".

"Good morning students." Simpson said as he approached the microphone in the middle of the stage.

"Well, due to recent events," most of the students fell silent, fearing the worst, even though no one knew of anything bad that had happened recently. "The school board has decided to take away the need of uniforms!"

Each student turned to their friends, cheering. The noise level grew, and many students stood up. I think I even saw one girl take off her shirt. I didn't really care about the uniforms, I mean, I had only been at the school for a month, and my old school also had uniforms, so I was used to it.

Clare, who was sitting a few seats away from me (well, not really sitting, because she had stood up by now), was talking to an Indian girl who was sitting in front of her. The Indian girl was jumping up and down in excitement, and Clare was giggling with her.

She looked so damn pretty. Her cheeks were red from laughing, which made her look adorable, and when she moved her head back to laugh, her curls were bouncing, and she was smiling, o her teeth were showing, she was just so…breathtaking.

The perfect moment ended too soon for my liking, because teachers started to dismiss students for their next class.

* * *

After homeroom was dismissed for the day at 3:10, I ran to the library, wanting to get there before Clare did. It was mostly empty, other than a few students scattered around the room.

I sat down at one of the empty tables in the corner of the room. After waiting for a few minutes, I took out my book and started reading. If I was going to sit here, I might at least get a head start on the project.

At around 3:50, I really started to wonder where Clare was. I took out my phone to call her, but I stopped when I saw her hurry through the door.

"Sorry that I'm so late. I know it's not an excuse, but I was with my boyfriend." She said in a hurry as she put her bad down on the floor and sat down next to me.

"Eli, right?" I already knew that he was her boyfriend, but I didn't want to come off stalker-ish, so I played dumb.

"Yea, Eli." She relied, taking out her copy of the book. "So, now onto _The Catcher in the Rye_." She said with a smile, changing the subject, which made me wonder what was going on with her and Eli.

* * *

We worked for a good hour and a half, before we were interrupted by the sound of Clare's phone beeping, signaling us that she had a new message.

"Sorry." She said as she took out her phone, looking at the message. Her facial expression changed, going from her usual happy, upbeat expression, to an upset one.

"Listen, I'm sorry, but I really have to go."

I was concerned, but seeing as how she didn't look happy about what ever had happened, I wasn't going to press for details. But as she was putting her notes and book back into her bag, she placed her phone on the table, and it happened to be opened to her conversation with Eli.

Of course I felt bad about invading her privacy, but I really wanted to know why she was so upset, so I decided to ever-so subtly glance at her phone screen.

Her conversation went like this:

_Clare: why are you avoiding me?_

_Eli: I'm not. _

_Clare: Clearly you are. I saw you with her yesterday. _

_Eli: You're overreacting. You can't compare this to what happened last time._

_Clare: So I shouldn't be concerned that you'll cheat on me again with her. I want to trust you, but you're making it so hard._

_Eli: So you're blaming me? I'm not the problem, you are. _

That was the most recent thing he said, and based on that, I'm not surprised that she's upset. But seeing this just made me more confused. Now I knew bits and pieces of what her relationship with Eli was like, and it didn't seem very good for her.

"So, um, we can figure out another time to work on it tomorrow, in class, okay?" I just nodded at her, kind of feeling guilty for invading her privacy.

Clare sauntered off quickly through the door, exiting the school. I saw light reflect on the tears that were rolling down her cheeks. I made a quick decision to follow he, so I grabbed my thing, stuffed them in by backpack messily, and ran after her.

**So, what do you think? That was my attempt at a cliffhanger. Sorry if some of the writing is stupid, especially the text-conversation. I hate writing those. they always come out sounding idiotic. I'm trying to add "drama", so I hope you like it. In the next chapter, I'll probably switch POVs, so be on the lookout for that. **


	4. Chapter 4

**So, here is my next chapter. It's in Clare's POV, and it starts a little before lunch on the same day as the previous chapter. Enjoy!**

**Clare's POV **

Eli had been avoiding me all day. And, to make matters even worse, I saw him with Imogen yesterday, and they looked closer than just friends.

Here's the thing, last year, Eli and I dated, and we had a strong relationship for a few months. Then in the middle of the year, Imogen transferred to our school, and Eli was all over her. All the time, even when I was around. I dealt with it though, hoping that after a week or so, he would realize what he was doing, and just stop.

But he didn't stop. In fact, it got worse. One day, we were supposed to meet at the park (it was considered "our special place". Looking back on it now, it's just stupid) and I saw him sitting on a bench, making out with Imogen! Of course he gave me some bullshit excuse as to why he was doing it, but even he knew they were stupid and unbelievable.

We got in a huge fight, which resulted in us breaking up. We had been really close friends, even before we dated, so the breakup changed our social lives drastically. We did everything in our power to ignore each other. I spent more time with my girlfriends, Alli and Jenna, and less time with mine and Eli's mutual friend, Adam, who hung out more with Eli than he did with me.

Eli and Imogen dated for a while, but then broke up. Eli never told me why, but I heard a rumor from Alli then Imogen cheated on him (Serves him right!). Over the summer, Eli and I went back to talking, and we got closer. Near the end of the summer, he kissed me, and it was so familiar, so I kissed back, and we decided to get back together.

We lasted about a month, and then school started. I knew we would face problems (mostly Imogen), but we stayed together. It was all perfect, until a few days ago. Imogen broke up with her latest boyfriend (if you could even call it that. She collected guys like they were candy, and she didn't even seem to care for any of them), and she had her sights set on Eli. I thought that we had already been through this, and Eli wouldn't possibly cheat on me a second time. Of course I trusted him, but I couldn't help but worry.

Eli had asked me to meet him in the park yesterday. I thought he was being romantic, seeing how this was "our special place", and all. But, boy was I wrong! Maybe it started out this way, him trying to rekindle the romance that was slowly but surely slipping away, but when I got there, he was with Imogen. They weren't making out or anything (like last time), but they were sitting close to each other, laughing together, and she was touching his thigh. Because I was a decent distance away from the two of them, Eli didn't see me, but Imogen sure did. We caught eyes, and she gave me this _look_, and then she smirked at me, as if to say _there's nothing you can do about this._

I don't know what happened with Eli and Imogen after that, because I left soon after Imogen saw me. I was hoping to talk to Eli, finally get an explanation to what the hell that was all about, but he was ignoring me.

Eli was a year older, so we didn't have class together, and he avoided me in the halls. At lunch, when I asked Adam where he was, Adam just said that he stayed in the library to work on something he was writing. It was really obvious that Adam was lying to me, so I didn't bother going to look for him. I just stayed in the cafeteria with Alli and Jenna.

During lunch, I texted him, hoping for a reason why he was ignoring me.

He replied, saying that he wasn't. I might have believed him, but Adam was such a terrible liar, so it was obvious that Eli asked him not to tell me where he was.

I told him that I saw him with Imogen yesterday, but he never replied.

After we were dismissed from school, I went to go find Eli, even though I knew that I had to meet up with Cam. I thought it would only take a few minutes, so I went anyway.

I looked pretty much everywhere in the school, and outside the school. I finally found him at The Dot. He was sitting at a booth by himself in the back. Because it was so soon after school was let out, there weren't many students here.

I walked to the back, and sat across the table from Eli, not saying anything. When he looked up at me, he had a guilty look in his eye.

"Yesterday-" He started to say.

"Save it. I don't want to hear some paper thin explanation, just like the last time I caught you with her. I want the truth. All of it."

"The truth is that nothing happened. I was going there to meet you, and I ran into Imogen, and she just came onto me. Do you really not trust me?"

"You know I want to, but after last time-" I almost felt guilty, but the I had to remind myself that I wasn't doing anything wrong.

"After last time! You can't compare this to before! When we got back together, we agreed on a fresh start! If you want to change your mind about that, then maybe I should change my mind about wanting to be with you!" He looked angry, and he kind of yelling, so I was glad that there weren't many people that we knew at The Dot.

"Is that what you want? To not be together anymore?" I was defiantly hurt by what he said, especially how genuine he seemed when he said them.

"Is it what you want?" He wasn't as angry anymore, and he seemed almost as upset as I was.

"I just… I have to go meet a guy from my English class to work on a project. We can talk tomorrow about this." Did he really want to break up? Did I want to? I need time to think this through.

"So you're just going to leave?!" He was yelling again, and seemed more angry than before.

"I need time to think this through."

"So you do want to break up?!"

"I didn't say that! I just-"

"What?! Time to think?! Fine! Take all the fucking time you need! Come find me when you're done thinking!" With that, he stood up and left The Dot, slamming the door behind him, causing the bell on it to ring loudly.

I stayed in the booth for a while after he left. I sat there crying, and after I had calmed down, I ordered some coffee. While I was waiting for it to be made, I heard my phone beep, signaling that I had a new message.

I assumed it would be Cam, wondering where I was, due to the fact that I was about a half hour late to meet him. But the message wasn't from Cam, it was from Eli.

_You're overreacting. You can't compare this to what happened last time._

Wow. He told me in a text, rather than telling me in person. Lately, he had been acting like such a douche.

_So I shouldn't be concerned that you'll cheat on me again with her. I want to trust you, but you're making it so hard._

He was just so ignorant. I couldn't just let go of the fact that he cheated on me. It wasn't something small, it was a big deal. He betrayed my trust, and he couldn't get it back by just asking for a fresh start.

I didn't wait for him to reply, because I was so late to meet Cam. I wouldn't be surprised if he had left by now.

* * *

Cam didn't leave. I really was surprised that he had waited so long for me. He really was such a nice guy, unlike my boyfriend.

We worked on the project for at least an hour, and we did make a lot of progress. Our progress, however, was interrupted when my jackass boyfriend decided to finally reply to my text message.

_So you're blaming me? I'm not the problem, you are._

To say that I was upset would be an understatement. I felt terrible, but I wasn't only sad, I was pissed off. Did he really have the audacity to blame me for something that was clearly his fault?! I can't believe that jerk!

I had to go talk to him, or at least go home. I wouldn't be able to concentrate after this.

"Listen, I'm sorry, but I really have to go." I had to get out of there as soon as possible. I could feel the tears, and the school library with a handful of other students.

I tried to get my stuff together as fast as possible, and while I was throwing all of it in my bag, I thought I saw Cam looking at my phone, which I had stupidly left opened on the table, but I wasn't sure.

"So, um, we can figure out another time to work on it tomorrow, in class, okay?" The tears were bound to fall. I just wanted to leave.

He nodded, so I bolted. I ran out of the school as fast as my feet would carry me. It was around 6 o'clock, so it was already kind of dark out. Usually walking home would be fine, but it was dark and getting cold, so I called Jake, my step-brother, to see if he could pick me up.

As I sat down on the steps outside of the school, I took out my phone and unlocked it, only to see the message from Eli, which finally made the tears fall.

I tried to calm my breathing as I dialed Jake's number so he wouldn't be able to tell that I was crying.

"Hey Clare. What's up?" he sounded happy, maybe he was with his new girlfriend Katie. If he was, I probably shouldn't bother him and just walk home.

"Do you think you could pick me up? I stayed after school to work on a project, and my mom hates when I walk home in the dark."

"Yea. But I'm a little far, so I'll be there in like 20 minutes."

"Okay. I can just wait inside until then. Thanks."

"See you in a few." He replied as we both hung up.

When I hung up, I let the tears fall again. I wasn't going inside. I couldn't let anyone see me cry.

"Hey." I heard Cam say softly, and I can tell he's behind me.

"Hey." I wiped tears from my eyes, even there was no point in doing so.

"So, I'm sorry, but I read your messages. Your boyfriends just being an asshole. Guys always are."

I smiled a little, happy that I had someone who agreed with me.

" I hope you don't mind me asking, and you totally don't have to answer, but what exactly happened between you two?" Cam said, sitting on the steps next to me.

"No, it's fine. But do you really want to know? It's kind of a long story."

"Well, I've got lots of time."

So I told him. I told him everything. All about how Eli and I dated through my sophomore year, and I also told him about Imogen. And how we got back together. And I even told him about what happened yesterday. And he listened. He listened to everything. You have no idea how grateful I was to him.

"I'm sorry; this must be so boring for you." I smiled and stopped telling him every little detail of my relationship with Eli.

"It's not. Really, go on if you need to. Getting out your stress is good."

"Thanks. For listening to all of this. I really do feel better." I leaned into hug him.

Our seemed to last forever, but suddenly it was over. When I pulled my arms from when they were previously around his back, I slowed down, and leaned my head closer to his, as he did with me. Our lips touched slightly, then more forcefully. I felt his tongue on my lips, so I open my mouth for entrance.

When I pulled back, he looked shocked, but not in a bad way.

I heard the sound of an engine, and saw Jake's truck in the distance. I pulled away from Cam, and stood up, grabbing my bag as I did so. I really hoped that Jake didn't see any of that.

"Jake's here. I have to go. I'll see you tomorrow at school." As soon as Jake pulled up to the curb, I jumped into his car.

"Someone's in a hurry." Jake said playfully.

"I want to get home. I'm really tired." I replied, not so playfully.

**OMG! The kissed! What's going to happen next! If you like it, please review!**


	5. Chapter 5

**So, there is defiantly Clare/Cam in this chapter, but not quite as romantic as in the last chapter. Also, the time kind of jumps around. The beginning is right after chapter 4, then it goes to the next day (Thursday), then Friday, then Monday. Enjoy!**

**Cam's POV**

I was shocked by the kiss, to say the least. Sure, I have wanted to kiss her since the day I met her, but doing it this way made me feel terrible. The kiss wasn't terrible, it was fantastic, just like I had always imagined it would be, but the circumstances were different than I wanted. She was cheating on Eli, and using me to do it. Clare was mad at Eli. I shouldn't have at least tied to stop her from kissing me, but, I mean, I was finally kissing Clare. This was what I wanted, why should I stop?

I kept the hope in my mind that Clare may have kissed me because she liked me, but I know that's not possible. She has a boyfriend, and I was merely someone who listened to her when she was upset. The closest will ever be is friends. At least I can still hope for that.

I went home after I saw her step-brother's truck leave. I didn't want to sit there and think about what had just happened. Clearly Clare didn't realize how I felt for her, but maybe she did, and that was why she kissed. No, I was so stupid to even think that. She would never return the feelings that I have for her. But, she might as well know how I feel about her. There isn't really much I could lose by telling her, well, except my dignity. I didn't just like her anymore, it was something a lot more than that. Love, maybe? I wasn't sure.

Maybe I would tell her. Yea, I defiantly would, tomorrow. I'll tell her how I feel about her.

* * *

The next day, I was sitting outside of the school at one of the picnic tables. There were lots of students outside the school, but I was looking for Clare. I just hoped that Maya and Tristan didn't come and sit with me again.

I finally saw Clare, and when I was about to get up to go talk to her, I saw that she was with Eli, and immediately felt a pang of jealousy.

They seemed to be talking, but then she took his hands into hers, and they kissed. When I saw Clare pull away, she looked happy, but not genuinely happy. Her smile was forced, and her eyes looked like she was internally screaming. I felt terrible. I knew she didn't want to be with him, but he was manipulating her into a relationship. It was unhealthy.

When Clare looked away from Eli, her eyes found me, and she came over. I saw he mumble and excuse to Eli, before she came over to the table where I was sitting. I couldn't tell her how I felt now. Not after I found out about her and Eli. To say I felt like shit would be an understatement. Clare was amazing, and she was with someone who didn't deserve her.

"Uh, hey Cam." She came up to me timidly, trying to void having other students here what she was staying.

"So, about yesterday…" she stopped, trying to figure out a way to let me down softly. She didn't have to. I already knew what she was going to say.

"Yea, I'm really sorry about that." I finished for her.

"Me too. Can we just pretend that it never happened?" She said, just as I expected.

"Sure."

"So, um, I got back together with Eli."

"That's great Clare." I gave her a small smile, and she must have realized that I wasn't really in the mood for talking, so she stood up to leave.

"I'll see you in class." And with that, she was gone.

* * *

I wen the rest of the day without talking to Clare about Eli. We only really saw each other in English, because in algebra she sat across the room from me.

The hard part was not asking her why she was with him. It just didn't make sense to me.

We worked on our project a little bit in English. We were almost finished with our book, and the final project was due in just over a week. The work that we got done today probably wasn't very good, because I was too focused on Clare, and Clare was texting Eli instead of reading the book.

I stopped trying to get work done, and just sat and stared at the clock for the rest of the period. The seconds seemed to be moving backwards, but eventually, the bell rang, and we left the class room.

* * *

Friday was the only day we didn't have hockey practice, morning or after school, so I had nothing to do after school. I sat down on at one of the picnic tables and finished some homework that I had.

I saw Clare sitting a few tables away. She was with Eli and Adam. At the angle I was sitting at, I could only see Clare's face, not Eli or Adam, and she looked really uncomfortable. Then Adam laughed at something that Eli said, and she just looked _depressed. _But then she plastered on a huge fake smile, and kissed Eli, and laughed with the two of her friends.

I had half a mind to go over and punch Eli, but before I had the chance to, Maya came and sat next to me without any warning.

"Hey Cam. What's up?" I didn't want to really talk to her, but she kept me from going over to give Eli a piece of my mind, so I guess I just had to suck it up and talk to her.

"Nothing much, you?" I put a fake smile on my face, trying to convince her that I was interested in our conversation.

"Me neither. So, um…" she blushed, and then looked at her feet. It seemed like she was nervous about something.

"What?"

"I was just wondering… do you want to hang out on Friday?" she looked back up at me hopefully.

I didn't want to go out with Maya. Sure, she was nice, but she was annoying, and I just don't like hanging out with her. I glanced over to where Clare was sitting. Adam had left, and now she and Eli were kissing, sometimes pulling away, and Clare would giggle. If Clare was defiantly not an option, why shouldn't her go out with Maya. Maybe Clare should feel how I feel. Who would I be hurting if I went on a few dates with Maya, so Clare would finally feel how I feel?

"Sure Maya. That'd be really cool." I felt kind of bad using Maya like this, but she didn't have to know why I was doing this. I could just let her down softly after a few dates, and she would never know the difference.

"Yea! That's totally cool!" She was smiling, which just made me feel worse.

"So, um, call me, okay?" I took out a piece of paper from my backpack, and wrote my number on it, handing it to her.

I left as fast as I could, but without making it look like I was trying to leave as fast as I could. I'm so stupid. I didn't want to go out with Maya, and the reason I had for saying yes was _beyond _stupid. Why was I basing all of my actions on Clare, or what she would think? She didn't like m, and she never would. We're just friends, and I have to stop obsessing over her.

The weekend couldn't have come fast enough. Two days of not having to deal with the drama of school, where I can just relax by myself.

* * *

Monday came too quickly. I spent most of my weekend catching up on sleep, due to the fact that I lost so much sleep due to late nights staying up to finish work to raise my grade and early morning hockey practice.

Today was the day that I had my date with Maya. Kind of a weird day to go on a date, don't you think? Monday was known as a bad day, going back to school wasn't something that most people looked forward to. Maybe she that was why she did it, because she wanted something to look forward to.

She texted me over the weekend, and we decided on a movie at the mall after school. She picked some comedy that, frankly, looked really dumb. Just another thing that I wasn't looking forward to on this crappy day.

My English project with Clare was due next week, which meant that we really had to get a lot of work done. It also meant that we would have to spend a lot of time together, which I was, and wasn't, excited for. She was still head over heels for Eli, and nothing I said, or hinted at, could change that.

On top of all of that, the couple that was hosting me at their house was leaving for the week for some sort of "vacation". Based on the fact that they told me not to tell the coach or any of the teachers that they were going to be gone, I assumed that they probably weren't supposed to leave me alone.

* * *

After we were dismissed from school, I waited outside for Maya so we could go on our date. When I saw Maya leave the school, I also saw he sister behind her. I assumed that her and her sister would go separate ways, but I was wrong.

As Maya approached the bench I was sitting on, so did her sister. Maya had a look in her eye, as if to say "I'm so sorry". I didn't really care that she was there, though. I know it sounds mean, but it would be a decent excuse to use when I break up with her.

Maya had her sister, Katie drive us to the mall. I thought that she would just drop us off, but I was wrong, yet again. She followed us everywhere, and sat next to us at the movie we saw.

During the movie, Maya tried to grab my hand to hold, and I was kind of glad that her sister gave me a look of death that prevented me from having to do so.

After the credits rolled, we exited the theater, and Katie immediately started grilling me.

"So Cam, are you a virgin?" Did Katie really need to know this? It's not like I was going to try to sleep with Maya. I didn't even like Maya.

Maya stood there looking horrified at what her sister had just said. "Cam, you don't have to answer that!"

Katie put her hand on my shoulder. "Yes you do." She smiled as she took a bite of the Twizzlers that she was eating.

"Oh my god, is that Drew kissing Bianca?!" I heard Maya say loudly next to me, and Katie immediately turned her head away from me, just as Maya grabbed my hand as she ran away.

Maya pulled me into a photo booth just as we saw that Katie was running after us.

We were breathing heavily from running, and Maya looked so happy, and I felt so guilty for using her.

After only a few seconds of being alone, Katie pulled open the curtain to the booth, pulling Maya and me out of the confined space.

"Alright kids, fun time's over. Maya, we have to get home." She gave me a dirty look as she walked away, Maya following her like a dog.

I stood by myself in the middle of the mall, wondering what the hell just happened.

**So what do you think? this chapter is a little shorter than the rest, but I'm working on making them longer. **


	6. Chapter 6

**So there is some Maya-bashing in this chapter, which reflects on how much I really don't like the character, but not too much. But if you do like Maya, it's only a little bit. Enjoy!**

**Cam's POM**

Friday rolled around really quickly. I still was with Maya, but I was planning on breaking up with her today.

We had gone on a few more dates throughout the week. They were all painfully awkward, like when we had a picnic in the garden. And pretty much every time we hangout, it's weird.

I approached her before school. She was waiting for me on the steps, so I motioned for her to move to a more secluded area next to a group of trees where there weren't as many students.

"Maya..." the sullen look on my face probably told her everything that she needed to know.

"Cam?" She said it jokingly, making fun of the tone that I was using. Apparently my facial expressions told her nothing.

"I don't want to go out with you anymore." Better to just get to the point, right?

"Is this because Katie came on that date with us? Because if it is, then I can just make sure that she never does-"

"No. this has nothing to do with Katie. I just don't want to go out with you anymore." I tried to say it calmly, but she just wasn't grasping the concept. How hard was it to understand? I just didn't want to date her anymore, it's not rocket science.

"But Cam…" She looked like she was about to cry, and I didn't want to be there when she did. I used the herd of students entering the building as an excuse.

"Sorry Maya. I have to get to class." I grabbed my backpack and escaped as fast as possible. Of course I felt guilty, but I didn't want to go out with her in the first place, and stringing her along would just make her feel worse.

* * *

While working on my English project with Clare in class, it dawned on me how much work we still had to do, and the final project was due on Monday.

When the bell rang, we still had a lot left to do.

"Can you come over to my house tonight and we could finish?" I suggested. "My host parents are away, so we wouldn't have any distraction."

"Sure. Tonight's fine."

I handed Clare a piece of paper with my address on it.

"I have something to do first, so can I come around 5?" she asked, taking the paper.

"Yea. That's fine."

* * *

Clare got there just after 5, so I had time to make sure that nothing was messy.

She pulled up in a red pickup truck, which I remembered to be her brother's. She came to my door, knocked once, and I had to wait a few seconds before answering so that she wouldn't know that I had been waiting by the door.

She looked really happy when I answered the door.

"So why'd you break up with your niner girlfriend?" she teased me, laughing as she did so.

"How the hell did you know about that?" I was kind of mad that she knew, which meant other people knew, but I was also kind of amused that she knew. I dated her to make Clare jealous, which clearly didn't work if she was making jokes about it now.

"My step-brother Jake is dating her sister, Katie, and Jake had her over, and I heard her on the phone with her sister. You really broke her heart Cam. You dated for a whole 3 and a half days." She was still teasing, and this time, I laughed with her.

* * *

The project came out really well when we had finished. All of our notes were typed neatly and placed on a poster board, and we had done it in surprisingly little time. We were finished just before 7.

I went to the kitchen to get us both something to eat, and Clare looked at the clock that was hanging on the wall and noted the time.

"So there's this part at my friend Adam's house, I think it was his brother's idea. It's still early. Do you want to go?"

"Sounds like fun." I smiled at her, which made her blush. she looked so pretty when she blushed.

I heard the beep of her phone in her pocket, telling her that she had a text from someone. She opened it, the smile on her face disappeared.

"What happened?" Walking over to see what happened.

"Oh, no, it's nothing." She tried to reassure me, but I saw her messages anyway.

_Eli: I think we should break up. Imogen and I want to give it another try._

I couldn't believe it. I knew Eli was a jackass, but this was low, even for him. Not only was he leaving her, but he was too much of a coward to tell her in person, so he broke up with her through a text message.

I looked up at Clare, and she looked more surprised than upset. I wasn't sure what to say to her, so I put my hand on her shoulder.

Out of all the possible reactions she could have had, she started laughing.

"Clare?" By now I was worried about her sanity. "Are you okay?"

"Of course, why wouldn't I be? it's probably just Adam or someone saying this as a joke. Alli said that once some girl that her boyfriend dated did that to her." It seemed more like she was trying to convince herself, rather than me.

"I know I don't know Eli well, but it doesn't seem out of character for him to do this."

"You're right." I was almost relieved that I got through to her, "You don't know Eli, you barely even know me. Just mind your own business." So much for getting through to her.

"Sorry. I'll back off." I stood up, walking back to the kitchen. "Why don't you just call him? If you're right, then you would know for sure."

"Fine, but I will be right. Eli wouldn't do something like this." She dialed his number on her phone, and waited as it rang. She put it on speaker phone, so she would be able to prove that she was right.

"Eli?" Clare said desperately when he picked up.

"Oh, did you not get my message?" He sounded unenthused, like he wished Clare would just leave him alone.

"Wait, that was from you? I thought that-"

"Whatever you thought, you thought wrong." He said rudely. Soon after he said that, I heard a soft female voice from his end of the line, mumbling something. I assumed it to be Imogen, based on his last text message. "Look Clare, I have to go." And with that, he hung up the phone.

Clare looked devastated. I knew something like this would end up happening. Dating Eli was bad for her, and she just didn't realize it until know. I heard a sniffle, then tears start to roll down her cheeks.

"Clare..." There was nothing I could say to make her feel better in a situation like this.

"No. Just... It doesn't make sense! He loves me, and I love him!"

"Do you really, though?"

"Excuse me?" She was offended by what I said, and now probably wasn't the best time to say it.

"Did you really love him?"

"Of course I did! You have no right to say something like that!" She had stopped crying, and now looked incredibly angry at me.

"Who's stopping me? Your relationship was bad from the start. It was a ticking time bomb, and if it didn't go off now, it would just be worse later." I wanted her to realize that she should stop putting Eli on a pedestal, and just realize that she deserved better.

"Why are you telling me this?" She was crying again, and it took everything for me to not to go and comfort her.

"Because I love you!" I finally shouted. " At least... I think that I do. And I want to be with you!" Clare had been staring at the floor, but when I said that, her head shot up. She didn't say anything, which made the fact that I actually just told her how I feel sink in.

"Please say something, anything!" I was sitting on the couch, but suddenly, she got up from the chair that she was sitting on and came over to me.

She put her hand on my cheek, and kissed me. Like, intensely and passionately, not just a peck on the lips.

When she pulled back, our faces were just a few centimeters from each other. "Cam…" she breathes. Our faces are so close together I can still taste her lips. I can feel her warm breath mixing with mine even though I'm nearly breathless. She's pausing, almost as if it's for dramatic effect but I know that it's not. I can see the words on the tip of her tongue.

The length of the pause between her words is really only seconds, but it feels like a lifetime. I'm waiting for her to finish her sentence, though my mind is still reeling over the kiss that happened seconds before. The kiss that was far better than the one from a few days ago after school. This was a kiss I'd dreamed of. A kiss I never thought would happen.

"I want to be with you too."

I stare back at her in awe, nearly unable to comprehend her words. She's so determined as she speaks them. At first when she had paused it almost seemed like hesitancy, but now I realize the truth. She's emphasizing it. She's not going to go anywhere this time and I believe that truthfully.

I plunge my lips for hers. And this time, there was nothing stopping me.

**Oh my god! There is nothing stopping their love! Who's excited for another chapter!? Sorry for the shortness, but I hope the Cam/Clare makes up for that.**


	7. Chapter 7

**So sorry for the delayed update! I've been having some major writers block. But, here is chapter seven. Enjoy!**

Clare leaned up and I moved my head down, crashing my lips to hers, kissing her deeply and slowly but with passion, both our hearts exploded and longed for another, deepening the kiss and want. I pulled away breathless, her eyes still closed for me to kiss her once more tenderly and slowly, letting her eyes open slowly and stare incredulously at me, amazed.

I never wanted that moment to end. Perfection at its finest. It seemed like time stopped. It stood still. But, at the same time, it was fast. My mind was racing, overcome by emotions. There was nothing in my way. In _our_ way. No one was going to stop us from being together.

The intense moment was ruined by Clare's phone buzzing, interrupting us yet again.

She blushed and smiled at me as she picked it up. "Hello?"

I made out most of what the person on the other end said. "Hey Clare. Where are you? You said you would be finished with your project by 8 and you would be here by 9. It's almost 10." I vaguely heard a few loud noises in the background, and his tone made him seem like he was nervous, maybe about whatever was causing all of the noise.

"Sorry Adam. There can't be that many people there, it's still early."

"Trust me on this. Our house is officially a war zone."

"I'll be there soon. Oh, um, is Eli there?"

"I think I saw him here with…Imogen. But Drew invited so many people, so it's hard to tell." Adam tried to reassure her, but there was no use, because she already knew the truth.

"Oh, well then, can I bring a…friend?" She smiled at me as she said that, giggling slightly. It was insanely adorable.

"It wouldn't really make a difference with all the randoms here already. But it would be so awesome if you and your friend could stay after and help me clean up. Drew is drunk off his ass and my mom's going to be home tomorrow, and if I don't clean up the mess, I will be grounded for eternity."

"Sure Adam. I'll see you in a few." She hung up the phone.

"So, you in the mood for a party?" She said, looking at me and smiling hopefully.

"With you? Always."

Clare blushed and grabbed her purse. "Good, because Adam will kill me if I don't show up."

"Can't have that, can we?" I put my arm around her, and we walked the short distance to where Adam lived.

* * *

We could hear the blasting music from down the block. It was about 10 when we got there. Not as late as it could have been, but most lights were off at the other houses, so it was really easy to spot Adam's house.

We walked in through the back, which lead us to the basement. There were large groups of teens scattered around the large room. Clare quickly saw people she knew, but restrained from going over to them in order to stay with me.

"Hey Rookie!" I heard from behind me, and immediately knew who was calling me. He walked up to me, beer in hand, and ruffled my hair. I hated when he did that.

"Clare!" We heard, from the other side of the room. It was the Indian girl that Clare was friends with, and she was standing with some blond girl.

"Cam, I'm going to go talk to Alli, but I'll be back in a few minutes." She kissed my cheek, and walked off to hang out with her friends.

Dallas smirked as he sipped his beer. "So you got yourself a girl? Didn't you just break up with the last one?"

"Yea, but it's not like that, it's-" He didn't give me a chance to finish before interrupting me.

"You are one major stud. Let me get you a drink."

I tried to protest, not really in the mood to get drunk, but my attempts failed as Dallas placed a beer in my hand. I took small sips of it, cringing at the taste. Sure, I had beer a few times before, but this was crap beer. It was repulsing. When Dallas wasn't looking, I placed it on the table behind me.

"So, that chick, she your girlfriend, or what?" Dallas slurred, clearly drunk, probably not really caring whether I answered him or not.

But what he said was important. _Was Clare my girlfriend? _ She said that she wanted to be, but… she had just broken up with her last boyfriend. I wanted to be with Clare, but I didn't want to just be her rebound.

The state of bliss that I had been in previously was gone, and reality had finally kicked in. I needed to find Clare and talk to her, so we could actually define whatever relationship we were in.

I saw Clare across the room, standing with the two girls from before, but when I got closer, I saw that there were a few others with them. And the girls didn't look very happy that they were there.

Eli was smirking, holding a skinny brunette tight to his side. The girl had on lots of thick makeup, and was wearing a tight, short black dress. She looked really slutty. I assumed that she was Imogen.

I walked next to Clare, silently slipping beside her. Alli was in the middle of saying something to Eli and Imogen, and based on off of the look on her face, she was pissed.

"Just take your skank and leave." Was the first part of the conversation that I heard, coming from Alli.

"Why should he? If you don't like it then you should just go." Said the girl that I assumed to be Imogen.

"Just shut up, Imogen!" Said the blond girl, confirming my assumption. "No one cares what you think, slut!"

"That's funny, coming the girl who just had a kid."

"Don't be mad at Jenna because no one actually likes you."

"At least I'm not a wannabe bitch!"

"Yes you are." The group fell silent, shocked by who the words came from. Eli.

"...Eli!?" Imogen shouted, turning to the side to look at him. Everyone of us was shocked, except Alli, who was giggling and nudging Jenna.

"It's not like she's wrong." He didn't even sound like he was trying to defend himself. "Clare, can I talk to you alone for a minute?" I wasn't sure how I felt about Clare being alone with him, but I wasn't sure if I had the position of authority in whatever relationship that we may or may not have to be able to say that.

Clare turned to me, kissing me on the cheek quickly. Alli raised her eyebrows when she did, not having known about said relationship that we might have.

"I'll be back in a second, okay?" Clare didn't sound to keen on the idea of being alone with him, but she went anyway. I hoped that whatever they were going to talk about would get Clare closure on her relationship with Eli, so I would finally be able to be with her. I didn't mean to seem clingy, but it was really annoying having Eli just being _there _always. Like she would never truly be able to be with me if he was still there.

* * *

I waited for Clare for a while. Alli and Jenna stayed with me, probably wanting to talk to Clare when she got back. Imogen left after Eli went to go talk to Clare. It was kind of funny how se pouted like a five year old before storming off. After she left, Alli and Jenna wouldn't stop laughing, so kind of felt out of place with them.

When they stopped laughing, Alli looked that me. "So, are you and Clare, like, _together_, or..." She asked. "Because the last I knew of, she was with Eli, but I think we all know how that went." She seemed kind of drunk, constantly giggling at everything, even if it wasn't funny.

"Yea, I don't know if we are, but-" I was interrupted by Clare coming back, so I quickly stopped talking.

"Alli, it's getting late. You know your curfew." Clare said, using it as an excuse to get rid of Alli. Alli, clearly drunk, stuck her tongue out at Clare, only to be pulled away by Jenna, both of them eventually leaving.

Now I was standing alone with Clare. Well, depending on how you look at it. There were a bunch of people around us, but none of them cared about what we were doing, so it was like we were alone.

"Do you want to go some place quieter?" I said, motioning to all of the people around us. Clare nodded, and I followed her through a glass door, leading us outside to an old wooden bench. There was no one around us, but there were a few red plastic cups scattered around the small area. With nothing else to do, I kicked one of them, sending it flying under the bench into some bushes.

The silence was terrible. It seemed to be crushing me, and I just hoped that she would say something- anything, just to make it better.

"Cam, what you said before..." Clare stopped for a second "Do you really want to be with me?" She said it as though the mere thought of someone finding her desirable was out of the ordinary, which was odd to me. She was just about perfect. Maybe Eli said something that messed with her head.

"Of course I do." I said softly, moving closer to her on the bench. "Do you want to be with me?" The way she kept questioning me made me doubt that she liked me. Maybe our kiss was just a the heat of the moment, and she viewed it as a big mistake, but I hoped that she didn't.

"Of course, but-"

"But nothing. If you want to be with me, and I want to be with you, than what's stopping us?"

"Nothing is! And that's just it! It's too...perfect, I guess. It doesn't make sense. Nothing does."

"What?" What the hell was she talking about?

"All of my other relationships have all gone terribly. Most of them ended in me being cheated on and getting my heart broken, and I don't know if I want to go through that again." Clare looked down, and I saw a few tears rolling down her cheek.

"I would never hurt you. Ever." She looked up, but quickly looked down again when we met eyes. I gently placed my hand on her chin, and moved her head up slightly. "Clare, will you be my girlfriend?" After, what she said before, part of me doubted that she would say yes, but I couldn't gain anything if I didn't move forward. And, it's not like I had anything to lose.

After what felt like hours, but what was just a few seconds, I dropped my hand from her face. just as I stood up to leave, Clare grabbed my hand, pulling me to face her, and she stood up too. He stopped abruptly when her lips suddenly crashed onto his. Clare shut her eyes and he cupped her face as she rested her hands on his shoulders. Finally, he kissed back and fireworks exploded! They kissed until breathless and finally tore apart with his forehead resting on hers

"Of curse I'll be your girlfriend." She said, smiling.

**Cam and Clare for the win! Is it weird that I get excited when I write just because I ship them so much? I hope not. The updates might not be as consistent as before, but I will try to keep it on Tuesdays and Fridays. **


	8. Chapter 8

**Okay, I'm sorry that this took forever, I totally skipped an entire week of updates. So this story was supposed to take place during season 12, but it doesn't really follow the order, but this I closer to 12c. And if you like this story, then you should check out "Fresh Start, or Maybe Not" by msleahbeah3236! It's another awesome Cam/Clare story!**

**Cam's POV**

Clare and I had been together for a few weeks. We have had virtually no problems. Sure, a few disagreements, the occasionally dirty look from Eli, but that was pretty much it. And let me tell you, I could not have been happier.

We had been on a couple of dates so far, and they all just seemed natural, not awkward, like some of the other dates that I've been on.

On our first date, we went to The Dot. I know that it may not seem like much of a date, but it was so romantic. The conversation just kept flowing, and I didn't have to worry about what she thought of me. It was just so… perfect.

I still sometime wondered what Eli had said to Clare at the party, but I tried not to think about it too much. I completely trusted Clare to tell me if there was something going on, so I had nothing to be worried about…right? But Clare had been acting a little differently lately, really cautious, like she was paranoid. I was probably just being paranoid, not her.

* * *

I walked into school the next day in hopes of finding Clare. When I passed the picnic tables and didn't see her, I began I walk inside, but I was stopped by a short brunette with frizzy hair. I recognized her as the ninth grader Tori, who recently transferred into my French class. She was really good friends with Maya and Tristan.

"I can't believe you did that to her!" What the hell? She was talking about Maya, right? That was weeks ago, and we really only went on one date. Still being mad about it now was kind of an overreaction.

"What?" I asked, still confused.

"Maya." She said with a _duh _look on her face. "You broke up with her for no reason, and now you're to chicken to tell her that you want her back, so you're trying to make her jealous by dating that Clare girl. It's so obvious. Just stop Cam, if you apologize to Maya now she'll still take you back."

Did she really think that I was using Clare to make Maya jealous? It took everything I had not to laugh in her face. Sure, it was mean, but come on! That was ridiculous!

"Um, no." I said with a humored smile as I tried to walk past her to find Clare.

"Tori! I told you not to talk to him about it! I said that I would do it!" Tori and I heard from behind her. There I saw Maya, jogging towards us with a nervous look on her face. Well, she looked nervous when she saw me, but she looked angry at Tori.

"But Maya-"

"But nothing! I told you not to! Now leave!"

"But-"

"Leave!" May shouted at Tori, who finally retreated, and left the two of us by ourselves outside of the school. When Tori was gone, it was kind of awkward for us.

"Can we go somewhere a little more … private?" Maya said, looking at the many students around us.

"I, uh, have to go find my girlfriend." I said, about to leave, before she interrupted me.

"Just for a minute, please. I really need to talk to you." She looked really desperate, and I felt bad, so I agreed.

"Just for a minute." I followed her around the corner so we were in a more secluded are near the new greenhouse. It was the same place we broke up.

"Cam, you can stop with the act now." She said giggling.

"I already told Tori, I'm serious. I have a girlfriend." It was hopeless, trying to get her to understand.

"Tori explained it to you. We already know that you're just using her to make me jealous. But it doesn't matter. We can just forget it, and get back together. I don't care why you broke up with me before, but we can be together now." Maya was still smiling. How could she be so thick headed?

"Maya, I don't want to be with you. I love Clare!" I did love Clare. And I didn't realize it till now, how terrible it would be to lose her. I loved her, so why was I still here talking to Maya. I tried to leave to go find her, but Maya grabbed my hand.

"You don't love her! You want me, I want you! It's perfect!" She yelled in my face as she pushed her lips onto mine. I pulled my head back as soon as she left go of the death grip she had on the back of my neck, and I left as fast as I could. From behind me, I heard Maya shouting.

"I'll prove it to you! You want me, not her!"

Was it cheating? It's not like I kissed Maya willingly, but still. I loved Clare, and I had to tell her.

The bell rang as soon as I got to the front of the school, so I shuffled in with the rest of the students. I guess I would have to wait to find Clare.

* * *

I walked out of class in a hurry, wanting to meet Clare for lunch as soon as possible. I sat on the steps outside waiting for her with my lunch, then I saw Eli out of the corner of my eye. I hoped that he would walk away, maybe go find Adam, but he eventually made his way towards me.

"Hey Cam." He said, too cheerful.

"Why are you so happy?" It seemed fake, too much like an act.

"It's just, the sun is shining, the weather's nice, and I've been thinking about Clare." And that got my attention.

"At Adam's party, when I was talking to her, I kept trying to convince her to get back together with me, and that the thing with Imogen was just a spur of the moment decision, but she insisted that she wanted to be with you. And now she is. What did you do to her? She loved me, and you warped her mind! You ruined everything we had!" Why was everyone questioning our relationship today? It didn't make sense.

"I didn't do anything. Don't blame me just because she finally came to her senses and realized that she deserved better than you."

"And you think that you're better than me? Really? I saw you with that ninth grader, earlier today. How would Clare feel knowing that you're cheating on her with mini Matlin? You're no better than me, and it's about time Clare realized that."

"I love Clare! You don't! Don't ruin her happiness just because you _think _that you love her!" Eli seemed to be laughing now, which didn't make sense either.

"You love her? You're a psycho!" Eli stood up to leave, but before he disappeared inside, he looked back at me. "And isn't it too bad that Clare is going to be forced to deal with it. But how is it my business? I mean, you two are _in love, _right? You should just get out of her life now, it would be better for her that way." Eli said. And with that, he was gone.

As I sat by myself on the steps, I had to think. Eli was right, at least some of the things he said were. I wanted Clare to be happy, and if she wasn't happy with me, the maybe I should just get out of her life.

I pulled my cell phone out from my pocket, and quickly dialed her number. I knew that her phone was turned off because she was still inside the school, so I left a voicemail when she didn't pick up. Hearing the pre-recorded version of her cheery voice made my stomach ache.

"Clare…" I said when the beep signaled me to start talking. "I love you, more than you could ever know… But we can't do this anymore. I can't do this anymore. It's over." I closed the phone, and slipped it back into my pocket. Quickly making y way inside of the school. I headed for the locker rooms. No one would be there at lunch, and I had all of the things I needed in the bag inside of my locker.

All I wanted was for Clare to be happy. I loved her. But she was better off without me.

I needed to fix things. But I couldn't. I needed to just end things. For good.


	9. Chapter 9

**This is the last chapter, and I guess it has a trigger warning. **

**Cam's POV**

I walked into the locker room quickly, grabbing my bag and leaving quickly. The locker room was cold, just like always. Kind of funny, right? After playing ice hockey, you would most likely want to go to a heated room, not some freezing room with a bunch of Neanderthals screaming, and having to sit on uncomfortable wooden benches until you're allowed to leave. I ran back out, passing students. The bell rang, signaling the end of lunch, but I wasn't going to class.

I felt tears running down my cheeks, only making run faster. I didn't want them to see me cry. But why did it matter anymore, why did anything matter? I would all be over soon anyway. I bumped into students, and I shoved them aside, making my way into an empty room. It was the prop room. I stood silently with my head against the door for a minute or so, willing myself to stop crying, but I just couldn't.

"Hey Rookie!" I heard Dallas say from behind me. I turned around to face him, hoping that my red eyes weren't visible. As I turned, I saw that he was holding a can of beer, and there were just under a dozen more on one of the tables behind him.

I didn't want to talk to him. I didn't want to do anything. I walked by him, grabbing a few of the beers from the table and shoving them into my bag. Dallas watched me, probably confused.

"If you want some beer Rookie, then just sit and have a drink." Dallas said, opening a fresh can and handing it to me.

"No, I just-" I stammered, thinking of a way to leave without him wondering where I was going. If he followed me, it would all be ruined. It already was. But why was I worrying? He seemed to be drunk, and he defiantly wouldn't worry about me right now. "I have to go." And with that I left.

The door wasn't locked. Considering that it was a high school, having the door to the roof unlocked was probably not a very good idea. It was sunny. Ironic, isn't it? Me, having such a crisis, my world was stopping. But everyone else was just going on with their live. But what did I expect? For everyone else to just stop what they're doing? Maybe I expected everyone else's worlds to stop, just like mine.

I dumped out my gym bag, the one I had taken from the locker room. Its contents, which were now strewn around the roof, consisted of s few things: Two cans of beer, a case of some sort of window cleaner, a handful of travel razors that I had grabbed from some convenience store, and a gun. I had taken the gun from my host family. It's not like they're ever there, or that they care about what I do. I just wanted it to all be over. All of it.

I had choices. For the first time in a while, it could end the way I wanted it. All I really wanted was to just be with Clare, no drama, no nothing, just Clare and I. Perfect. But that was only a dream, none of it possible. Everything was ruined, and now, I didn't have to deal with it anymore. None of it. My final way out.

Call e a coward, but you would never know what it's like. I just wanted it to be over, and I had options on how it would end. Options. The word was foreign, and so was the concept. I never had options, or choices. I was always forced into things. Coming to Toronto to play hockey, dealing with psychos like Eli, but now, it was all on me.

Admittedly, the choices were overwhelming. I wanted it to be over fast. The gun? No, it would be too loud, and people might hear. I wanted my final moments to be alone, not with a bunch or random students who barely knew me.

The window cleaner? Poison, maybe. Would I really want my insides burning as I thought my last thoughts? No. Defiantly not.

I thought about the gun again as I grabbed one of the beers. I opened the can and thought about Clare. I broke up with her, but she was all I wanted. She was the only good in this shitty world. Maybe I could stop now, and go find Clare. Maybe she hadn't gotten my message yet, and I could just explain everything to her. We could still have a happy ending; I just needed to go find her.

_Happy ending?_ Why was I thinking? This wasn't some dumb movie. I couldn't be happy, not anymore. Everything was ruined; no amount of explaining and apologizing could do anything.

I felt my phone vibrate in my pocket, and I pulled it out, only to be met with the smiling face of Clare, signaling that she was calling me. She probably had gotten my message. Thinking about Clare only made me feel worse. I wouldn't be able to see her perfect smile ever again. I would never be able to kiss those perfect lips again, hold her hand in mine. Never again.

More tears pooled out of my eyes, and I chucked my phone off of the roof. I could always go that way. Just jump. One quick movement to end all of my troubles. Simple as that. I slowly walked closer to the edge of the roof. Even though classes were going on, there were a few students still hanging out on the school steps, or by the picnic tables, so I couldn't jump. So much for that idea.

I waked back to where the contents of my bag lay. There was only one thing left to do. I pulled out one of the razors from the pile, and just sat there for a minute, staring at it. Did I really want to do this? Now was the perfect time.

Back when I lived in America I used to cut myself. It only happened a few times, but holding the blade just brought up so many old memories. Whenever I would get upset, just disappear into my bathroom in the middle of the night, it was just so easy. Cutting was a way out, before. Now, it just wasn't enough.

I slipped off my Ice Hounds jacket and rolled up the sleeve of my shirt. I saw a few old scars, and had to stop for a moment. I hadn't built up the courage to put the blade to my skin yet, but I eventually did. It stung, but I felt relief. So much relief. After all of the emotional pain, it was good to have some physical pain to even it out. There was more blood than I expected. I thought it would be like a paper cut, sting a little, a tiny bit of blood, then it's fine, but it wasn't. Maybe I had cut deeper than I thought. More blood started to flow, so I took the blade from my skin for a second.

I continued to slit the skin about my wrist, moving slowly up my arm. When I got to my elbow, I slowed. I saw the faint outline of my veins, and pressed the blade back onto the skin. It hurt more than the other times, and there was more blood, and I came out faster.

I felt dizzy, most likely from blood loss. It would be done soon. All of it, over. I was almost excited. Happy for the terror called life to finally end. I moved to my other arm. I was harder to cut now, because I couldn't really bend my previous arm, but somehow I managed. The blood dripped down my arm onto the gravel on the rooftop. It was on my shoes, my pants, but I didn't care. It's not like it mattered.

My vision got spotty, and then blurry. Suddenly I was surrounded my black, and it was closing in on my line of vision. I tried to scream. I didn't want it anymore. I wanted to go back. To be with Clare, my family, even my stupid brother. But I couldn't go back.

I couldn't see anything, but for a few seconds, I still felt the stinging in my arms. Then I didn't. I didn't feel anything. It was all over.

* * *

When I woke up again, everything was so bright. I heard a faint beeping sound, and the were white walls all round me. The bed a I was lying in was uncomfortable, so I tried to sit up. I felt someone holding my hand, and when I tried to move, the noticed that I was awake.

"Cam?" The person said softly, and I turned to see that Clare was sitting next to me. Her eyes looked red, like she had been crying.

"Clare." I said, my voice hoarse from being unconscious . I tried to sit up, but when I moved too fats, I got kind of dizzy, so Clare squeezed my hand and motioned for me to lay down again and not to move.

"Why would you do that Cam?" She wasn't angry, but concerned. I couldn't look her in the eye, feeling guilty, but when I did, I saw that she was crying again.

"It's just...I love you. And...fate, or something, doesn't want us to be together. And your the only person that cares about me, so if I couldn't have you, I just didn't want to be here anymore. " Clare took puled her hand away from mine in order to wipe her teary eyes.

"But we are! Don't think that way! I couldn't stand to lose you, and neither could so many other people. Your parents are on there way here, they just had some travel problem. And most of the Ice Hounds are in the waiting room. So many people care about you, not just me." Clare was crying again, and so was I. She stood up for a second and leaned over me, softly kissing my lips.

"You're going to get through this Cam. We're going to get through this." Clare reassured me, and took my hand in her once again. And in that moment, I knew. Everything was going to be just fine.


End file.
